RE: Smart Roadster Coupe: Spotted

[Bionic Billy Nav]

At Arnage Le Mans 2010 complete with four man tent etc etc..Cannot recommend these highly enough...

[speedtwelve]

Article should have mentioned the Tuscan as a competitor rather than MX5 & MR2 Roadster surely?

[Bionic Billy Nav]

DMN said:

Bionic Billy Nav said:

threespires said:

Great if one likes zero storage space, huge understeer, awful gearboxes & engines that like to blow up.

Zero Space? it has plenty? Me and the wife took her Coupe to lemans for five days with all the camping gear

We've done likewise, twice.

The only thing I'll critise the Smart for is its lack of steering feel. Its really poor. That said, I can't wait to get mine back on the road. Its off to have it cylinders bored out slightly, raising the cc to 708.

I think the only thing i would criticise was the gear box could have been slightly quicker more responsive but then it was probably ok most of the time the only time it mattered is on track or when you wanted to show someone up which was fairly easy to be honest (if you got it right!) lol...

[kambites]

The slowness of the rack doesn't help, either. It needs at least one less turn lock-to-lock.

Beautiful chassis ruined by some pretty basic errors in component selection, IMO.

[Vince70]

I had one for 3 years and it was bought at a year old,

I thought it was a fantastic concept and a beautiful looking car inside and out, mine was trouble free but it was only brought out of the garage on sunny days and was a pampered low mileage garage queen while in my ownership.

I found the downside was the build quality and Merc dealerships, the plastics used in the interior were really cheap quality and to do any maintenance would mean the back of the car would have to come off also the engine was to highly stressed at 700/800 cc

If the build quality could have been better and it had a conventional gearbox and a perky little trouble free N/A 3 pot as found in the C1/Argo it would have been just about perfect.

It felt to me it was underdeveloped but mine didn't have the clutch, Sam unit and leak problems like most so I guess a few went through a quality control process at the factory.

I sold it to a very nice couple through piston heads I hope BX05 WWF is still going strong.

[Brompty]

I spotted one of these recently and thought , ' I bet these are going for a song now'. When I checked the price and owners' comments there is only one word for the roadster, ' Avoid'. Especially compared to the MR2, Celica or an Alfa GTV.

[Rotaree]

slarnge said:

Horrid little cars !! One i had just kept filling up with water,that soon went.

Me too, mine leaked and went wrong all too frequently.it was a dreadful thing so I got rid of it very quickly but lost a load of money. Shame really as I'd previously had a ForTwo that was great.

[j_s14a]

Perhaps the gear change has improved with age? It was simply awful when these were new, one of the worst I've ever experienced. It is better in manual mode, but it's still only reasonable then. Lovely light, but pin point accurate steering though.

[Bigchiefmuffin]

My brother had a Brabus for 4 years, which I drove quite a lot. They ARE great fun, and allow you to really enjoy a drive without losing your licence. Unlike pretty much every modern car, you feel like you are going a lot faster than you actually are. There is a lesson here to be learnt for car manufacturers - in many ways, this is the future.

But, in just as many ways, this car isn't. You rapidly learn to drive round the gearbox ( just go to manual and feather it ) but the interior, even in the Brabus, is pants quality, it is very noisy and it feels like you are driving with a over-reved blender behind your ears. Great toy/second car for those who can afford one, but you would have to be quite committed to do serious miles in it on a daily basis

[HeWentThatWay]

My mx5 has 130bhp and if im honest its not really enough, so 81bhp must be awful

[Kermit79]

As usual there is a lot of ste talked on here.

I have a Smart Brabus roadster... I use it every day and get 56 mpg average...it does not and never has leaked....the gearbox is fine (I used to work for Ferrari and compared to a 355/360 F1 of a similar vintage, then no problem, it has a clutch and is not a DSG unit as you know.

It allows adequate progress, and fun at sane speeds, it was designed to emulate the British sports cars from the late 50's to mid 60's (Sprite etc.). Sits on the motorway at the speed limit and above if required in a completely planted fashion. I had an S3 before this, now that was a turgid affair. The steering is plenty quick enough for road use and does have feel, but does require you to utilise a 911 style to get some weight on the front axle(I'm not sure whether the rack is the same for Brabus/standard?). I have 'run down' much 'faster' cars on the twisties, because once up to speed there is very little requirements for braking.

I personally wouldn't go near an MR2 as it looks like a constipated frog to me (eye of the beholder etc.)

I think the concept is great and was 10 years ahead of the game, and if you appreciate what it is then you can start to appreciate the car a little. I agree that the interior could be of higher quality, but at least I have found it relatively hard wearing. Plastic panels have an upside. Damaged wing? No problem, whip it off and replace.

The engines don't grenade if they are looked after, serviced properly (all 6 plugs replaced not just the 3 you can see), warmed through and oil is checked regularly.

My only real bugbear with the car are the Brabus alloys that are made out of chocolate.

I have driven most things and can say with hand on heart that this little car has character that supposed sports cars can only dream of. It brings a smile to your face that you are able to have fun and go just as fast as someone in a (add your own vehicle here), in the knowledge that I spend £105/year road tax, fill up on high octane for £40 and do over 380 miles on it and drive something that is a little bit different.

Each to their own I suppose.

[Speed addicted]

Could you put a decent motorbike engine and gearbox into the roadster? Something like a ZZR1400 with around 200bhp would be quite amusing in such a light car.

[Bionic Billy Nav]

HeWentThatWay said:

My mx5 has 130bhp and if im honest its not really enough, so 81bhp must be awful

But and I've owned both, the smart car with a little fettling ie filter exhaust remap is more than adequate and holds its own don't forget a smart car Roadster is nearly 300kg less in weight that is why it'll beat a 1.6 115bhp Eunos hands down with the right driver..

[NGK210]

PH said:

Smart Roadsters... can leak, playing havoc with the SAM unit ...

Forgive my ignorance, but for the benefit of those us who don't speak Geek - what is a "SAM unit"? (Acronym Finder lists a mere 230 possibles.)

And in future, perhaps PH could kindly adopt the practice used by the majority of publications, both online and printed, which write uncommon acronyms and abbreviations in full at their first mention, please? Thanks

[moribund]

Mogsmex said:

meh, find the extra couple of grand and get a series 1 elise, all the same lightweight plus points but

more fun
more street cred
will appreciate

ta da

Couple of grand? Dream on. Double the price you mean, if you want one that works. If you'd said VX220 you would have had more of a point.

As someone who made the move from Smart to Elise earlier this year I can say the Smart is surprisingly close to the Elise to drive, especially in cornering ability. The Elise has more speed and credibility, but it's also massively compromised as it's so noisy and short on storage. And it's even less waterproof too!

Steering feel and number of turns lock to lock are one area where the Elise really shows how it's done but I'll confess to missing the Smart from time to time.

This is my Carpool article on my old car: http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyI...

It sold for £3100 which makes the one PH spotted look very expensive.

Edited by moribund on Tuesday 1st October 20:33

[UrbanLegend]

Garlick said:

I'd absolutely love an A2. Genuinely.

That makes 2 of us

[xRIEx]

hondafanatic said:

MGZRod said:

DMN said:

How long till he strikes?

I can hear dueling banjos in the distance...

What's that coming over the hill?

Is it a Mazda?

[dxg]

Every so often I miss mine. It somehow had a sense of occasion about driving it - from remembering where to put the key and how to start it onwards...

Then I remember about the gearbox. And the steering rack which was far too slow.

[Ed Straker]

Kermit79 said:

As usual there is a lot of ste talked on here.
etc......

Thanks for the skinny
Always appreciate a reality check on here....

[moribund]

NGK210 said:

Forgive my ignorance, but for the benefit of those us who don't speak Geek - what is a "SAM unit"? (Acronym Finder lists a mere 230 possibles.)

Can't remember what it stands for, but the SAM unit is a little plastic box full of relays, fuses and electronics behind the dash which controls lights, wipers etc. it gets destroyed if the front bulkhead and wiper tray isn't sealed properly, which unfortunately many were not.